Paris Eats
Breakfast at Ladurée
After our morning at the market Grace, took me to Ladurée in Saint-Germain for French toast. According to her they’re some of the best she’s ever had in Paris and after my visit I absolutely agree. They were so delicious and after an intense but wonderful morning at the market, just what I needed.
When breakfast/brunch was over we strolled around the city and finally ended up at this place. If you haven’t been already you should really go, the store is worth a visit by itself! The hours went by and after much laughter, running around, a wonderful day in the sun and Chinese food for dinner I strolled home happier than ever.
Used Book Café
One of my favourite places in Paris is the Used Book Café at Merci where I met up with a friend a few days ago. When I was on my way over there the sky opened up and within minutes I was drenched by the rain. Wonderful spring weather… Fortunately this café is the perfect place to warm up, inside while looking out on the pouring rain. A few scones with raspberry jam later and a new amazing friend I was good to go!
Dinner at Semilla
Yesterday evening a couple of friends and I went out to Semilla for dinner. Good solid food (they obliviously have a thing for adorable little flowers, right?) and an inviting atmosphere with lovely French chatter all around us. Moments like these, in the middle of everybody’s busy week, are invaluable to me. To laugh so hard that your cheeks hurt the day after and to talk about everything and nothing with your awesome girlfriends is the best thing in the whole world.
Nanashi
Before I went to Corsica last week I managed to squeeze in a little visit to the restaurant Nanashi in the Marais neighbourhood. I’ve heard quite a lot about it so I was excited to finally try it! Except for the starter, it didn’t disappoint. I loved my main dish (which you can see in the photo above) even though I don’t remember the name of it… I’m coming back for sure. It was well priced, good food and the space is just huge.
Rose Bakery
During Friday I met up with the lovely Aisling for a morning date at Rose Bakery, located on the second floor inside Le Bon Marché. The space is light, bright (and so far pretty calm), everything is organic and very tasty if I can say so myself. We started with scones, smoothies and granola but quickly moved on to their desserts, of course. Who can ignore a freshly baked brownie and a straight-out-of-the-oven muffin? Not me, that’s for sure. We might as well have stayed for lunch too. Oh well, another time!
Lunch at Verjus
Last week I met up with Diane for a lunch at Verjus. They’ve recently started serving sandwiches during lunchtime so I was very excited to find out more. To sum it up, this was probably one of my favourite lunches in a long time. So simple but absolutely delicious! I wish that I lived next door so that I could eat this fried chicken sandwich every single day. And the caramel (which just happens to be my favourite) brownie didn’t hurt either.
I can’t wait until the weather improves so that you can order them to go and grab a seat in Jardin du Palais Royal!
Frenchie Wine Bar
During my last four months in Paris I tried, just like everybody else, to get a table at super popular Frenchie around a million times but without any luck. Eventually I gave up and decided to go to Le Chateaubriand instead, which was more like a nightmare (more about that here) I’m afraid. Anyway, after my visit at Le Chateaubriand I kind of lost a little bit of hope for a few of these super hyped and much talked about restaurants…
So when the lovely Diane asked me to come along for a dinner at Frenchie Wine Bar I was a little bit scared of a similar experience but said yes since I’ve seen her absolutely gorgeous photos of this place more than once and heard her words of praise at several times. Let’s give it a try I thought, and boy am I glad that I did!
The relaxed yet bustling atmosphere, the concept of smaller dishes, the window into the little kitchen, the great variation on the menu and last but certainly not least, the amazing food made this restaurant a place I immediately wanted to come back to. And being there with the Frenchie expert (i.e. Diane) didn’t make it worse either, as she was kind enough to guide me through the menu, picking the dishes I wasn’t allowed to miss out on. The dishes we ordered, from top to bottom were (simplified since I can’t possibly remember all the details): foie gras (which I’m usually not the biggest fan of but this was just perfect), the burrata with mushrooms, tortellini with amaretti cookie crumbs (sounds weird but oh so delicious), quail with mashed potatoes (which was the best I’ve had since these), panna cotta with avocado foam and last an absolutely delicious lemon tart.
Another great thing was that the prices were far away from being too steep. I would happily return every single week if my bathroom scale and my wallet would allow me to.
I have to quote Diane because I think she said it the best: “I didn’t believe the hype, and I apologise. I get it now.”
Ten Belles
Today I met up with the lovely Sugared & Spice for a little breakfast at Café Saint Régis. And I know what you’re probably thinking: that doesn’t look like Café Saint Régis… And you’re right, it’s not. For some reason we didn’t get enough and decided to move on to the coffee shop Ten Belles which we’ve both been wanting to visit for a while.
Right now it seems like these kind of coffee bars are popping up all over the place in Paris and I think I’ve been a little bit resistant to try them all since they remind me a little bit too much of many cafés back home (and I’m here to experience more of Paris, not Stockholm) but I must admit that I’m happy I visited. It was such a cosy place with a very sweet staff and a yummy selection of drinks, sandwiches and desserts. The raspberry lemonade and the pastries were hands down the favourite part of my visit. The pastries tasted sooo much like home (the flavours that is, since I’ve never seen these exact pastries before) that it almost made me feel a little bit homesick… So I guess it wasn’t too bad that there were a few similarities to Stockholm. Now I’m going to have to come back for another taste of home very soon.
La Chambre Aux Confitures
On a recent stroll around Le Marais I stumbled upon this little shop. A store that only sells one thing: jam. How could it get any better than that? I’m definitely going back to stock up my supply.
Lunch at Merci
I’ve had an absolutely lovely weekend and I mainly have to thank Milsters for that. A yummy lunch at Merci (as you can see above) and a cosy little brunch at home. If you haven’t been to Merci yet I can absolutely recommend dropping by. But be prepared to hold on to your wallet! Every time I visit I suddenly realise that I need a million new (unnecessary but fun) things…